A recognized problem in water beds is the force exerted on the rails of the bed, especially on the side rails. Because the side rails must be quite long, the force constantly exerted by the water in the mattress tends to cause bending or bowing of the rails. Even though the rails for full flotation mattresses are relatively heavy wooden beams, the force of the water is sufficient to cause bending over a period of time.
The most common effort at preventing the bending of the side rails of water beds is to fasten at least the center portion of the rail to the deck of the bed. Such a technique provides additional support in the center of the rail, which does counteract the outwardly directed forces. Connection of the side rails to the deck is usually accomplished by installing angle brackets which are screwed to both the rails and the deck. The brackets therefore both prevent bending of the rails and assist in holding the rails on the deck.
The problems with the angle brackets are, first, that the brackets are difficult to install. It will be understood that a water bed is generally assembled by the user; and, while most of the assembly is quite easy, the ordinary user has trouble inserting wood screws into the rails and deck of the bed frame. Also, if only a single bracket is used on each rail, the constantly exerted forces will eventually bend the angle bracket or cause the screws to pull out, and allow bending or bowing of the rail.
Thus, the prior art has not provided a simple and practicable solution to the problem of the bending of side rails for a water bed.